BuzzSugar

Before They Were New Moon Stars

BuzzSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:30:13 -0700

In honor of today's very exciting launch of TwilightSugar, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at what the red-hot actors were doing before they were cast in New Moon. Some were unknown, others were child stars, so let's take a look back at their careers. Plus, now you can brush up on their old projects while you're waiting for New Moon!

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TV Tonight: The Ex List

BuzzSugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:30:57 -0700

Back when I first saw the pilot of The Ex List, which premieres tonight on CBS, I was cautiously optimistic. It wasn't a home run, but the show - which stars Elizabeth Reaser as a woman who learns she has a year to find her Mr. Right and he's someone she's already dated - had enough cute and funny things going for it that I was more than happy to give it time to grow. Once I met the hilarious Diane Ruggiero, who was then the showrunner, I was ready to give it a season pass then and there.

But The Ex List has hit some turmoil since then, and while I'm still excited about tonight's premiere, there's some apprehension mixed in as well. Ruggiero left the show - vocally, and not happily - because she said her vision for the show didn't match CBS's. That's a shame, because her vision was the one I would be tuning in to see. But several episodes of the show were completed under Ruggiero's regime, and it's not like it's in bad hands now: The producer of the original Israeli miniseries on which the show is based has taken over. So, I remain cautiously optimistic.

Here's one thing that hasn't changed: Reaser is still in the lead role as Bella Bloom, and - somewhat surprisingly, given her role as Ava/Rebecca on Grey's Anatomy - she was totally refreshing to watch. She pulls off the laid-back California girl thing well, and with a ragtag cast of roommates, there's a bit of a How I Met Your Mother vibe to the whole thing. Will you be checking out The Ex List, either live tonight or via TiVo later? To watch a clip, just read more.

Photo courtesy of CBS

Pilot Watch: The Ex List

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:30:36 -0700

The networks have announced their Fall schedules, but which of the series will actually be worth watching? This Summer, as the networks release their pilots, I'll be posting my first impressions. A lot can change before a show makes it to air - especially this year, when the writers' strike severely gummed up the production of pilots - so consider these just some quick thoughts on how the shows look now. Today's installment: CBS's The Ex List, which is slated to air on Friday nights.

What's it about? A 30-something woman named Bella learns from a psychic that her soulmate is one of the many men she's dated previously in her life - and if she doesn't find him and marry him within the year, she'll be single forever.

Who's in it? Elizabeth Reaser, Rachel Boston, Alexandra Breckenridge, Adam Rothenberg, Amir Talai

The good: I'm only familiar with Reaser from her role as Rebecca/Ava on Grey's Anatomy, so it's good to see that she's also an appealing lead actress (not to mention one with arms to die for - I nearly dropped to the floor for some push-ups in the middle of one of her scenes). There's a good dynamic between Bella and her roommates, whose slacker-ish delayed adulthood seems symbolized by the plastic kiddie pool they lounge in. The show's executive producer hails from Veronica Mars, and that background shows through in some of the snappy dialogue.

The bad: I'm not sure how the premise will hold up long-term. Will there be an ex of the week who's reintroduced and disposed of within a single episode (as in the pilot)? Will there be weeks with multiple guys and weeks with no guys at all? Also, something about the tone seems off for CBS - essentially, it feels more like an ABC dramedy than anything on CBS right now, and I don't see even the tamer sex jokes going over well with the Ghost Whisperer crowd. Reaser gets stuck with a couple of clunky lines ("holy hotness, Batman") and doesn't sell them particularly well.

Will I watch? Fridays are tough, and I don't know that there was enough here to hook me as a regular viewer - but if I happened to be home, I wouldn't be sorry to watch it.

To watch a preview, just read more.